


Arriving Home

by whoseeswhatsyetunseen



Series: Arrowcave Adventures [13]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Aftermath, Angst, Arrow season 2 finale, Confused Oliver, Emotional, F/M, Fallout, Feelings, Felicity's house, Gardening, Gen, I Love You, Returning Home, Team Arrow, Vandalism, arrow 2x23, dealing with FEELINGS, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1676426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoseeswhatsyetunseen/pseuds/whoseeswhatsyetunseen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>continuation of "The Flight Home Was Very, Very Long".</p><p>Felicity is the first to really be shocked by the reality of Starling City upon their return.  And as she struggles with seeing her neighborhood torn apart, Oliver struggles with his responses to her.  Diggle just continues to mentally slap them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arriving Home

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Flight Home Was Very, Very Long](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643573) by [whoseeswhatsyetunseen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoseeswhatsyetunseen/pseuds/whoseeswhatsyetunseen). 



> So I was peer pressured into continuing my emotional therapy that was written after watching "Unthinkable". This one is pretty light on the Olicity, sorry ;)
> 
> (--None of the source material is mine, sigh, oh well.)

Arriving

When they walked off the plane into Starling City International Airport, Felicity sighed in relief. Finally home. Or what was left of it.

She stood at the curb next to John while Oliver hailed a cab. Suddenly, she felt dread flood through her body.

"You ok?" Diggle asked, looking down at her.

"Uh, yes, no, uhm, yeah not really, actually," she said. "It's just, up until now, I didn't have a chance to stop and think about it all."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked as he returned to them.

She shifted her feet and shrugged. "Well, you know; we had to get Slade to the island and all that. Now we are here, without someone trying to kill us--"

"Give it a minute," Diggle grumbled with a smile.

Felicity frowned at him but continued. "And now we can see all that has been done to our home city, to our friends and neighbors and complete strangers...to the store fronts and cars...and it wasn't all just the mirakuru soldiers. Vandals used the chaos and anarchy as a chance to loot and terrorize...and I just--"

Oliver placed a hand on each of her shoulders and turned her to face him. She snapped her mouth closed and looked up at him. He gave her that little smile with slightly sad eyes, the one that everyone but the two of them KNEW was reserved just for her. It could mean a lot of things but mostly it translated into, "I hear you and know. I know that everything you are babbling, it's correct and true but there is nothing you can do that will fix it all, so please just breathe and smile every once in awhile, for me, ok?"

\---->\---->

Diggle watched them looking into the other's eyes and mentally slapped them both. He had discussed their complicated relationship with Lyla a while ago and was glad to know she agreed the two idiots were in love but too damaged at the moment to move forward.

Still, it would be nice if at least one of them could admit to the feelings...Diggle shook his head and resumed his shameless listening-in.

"...Felicity, take a second and just relax." She stiffened in his grip but Oliver didn't let her speak. "If not your mind, then your body."

Diggle grinned as Felicity's blush began creeping up her neck.

Oliver rubbed his hands up and down her arms a couple times before stepping back to open the door of the taxi that had just stopped.

He held out his hand and a now fully pink-faced Felicity placed hers in his and allowed him to help her into the car.

Diggle opted to avoid the tight, and frankly, awkwardly charged backseat and slid into the front passenger seat instead.

"Hey!" the taxi driver suddenly sputtered. "You--you--You are that guy!" Diggle saw Felicity's eyes grow huge and Oliver's grow blank. "Yeahyeahyeah! You are Oliver Queen, man!"

Oliver smiled politely. "Nice to meet you," Oliver glanced at the cabbie license, "Mr. Bryant."

"Yeah, you too, dude! So, guess you don't have your fancy cars and drivers anymore, huh? Dang, that's some tough break." When none of the passengers responded, he cleared his throat and asked, "So, where can I take you this fine evening?"

Diggle gave his address and Felicity gave hers, but Oliver opened his mouth and said nothing.

"You're staying with me, man," Diggle said, locking eyes with his friend over the headrest. "Let's take the lady home first, alright, Mr. Bryant?"

The cabbie nodded, wisely deciding none of it was his business.

"See?" Felicity whispered as she looked out her window. "With all that was happening, we forgot that...that all our usual places are gone. Destroyed, or ownership transferred, or no longer secret...or all of the above..."

And even though she was sitting as far away in the seat from Oliver as she could, subconsciously withdrawing from the reality they had returned to, Diggle saw Oliver still reach out to take her hand for a brief squeeze.

\---->\---->

Felicity tried to let all the disorder she was seeing not get to her. And she was doing pretty well, until they reached the start of her neighborhood.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

Several cars and minivans were charred husks or just totally wrecked. They had been moved, put into a pile of sorts, clearly waiting to be taken away.

Some front yards also showed charring, and broken fences and mailboxes; debris was still littered everywhere, although it seemed some progress had been made: broken windows boarded up and walkways swept.

When they turned onto her street, Felicity let out a cry. Her cute little garden was gone, as well as her mini cooper. Burned to the ground. The side of her house showed how high the flames had reached, but thankfully, the structure itself appeared intact; the front door seemed locked still.

But her garden...

"No no no no," she began babbling. She was stepping from the taxi before it had stopped.

\---->\---->

"Felicity!" Oliver quickly followed her. She was hugging herself, wrapping her arms tight across her chest as she approached the pathetic little plot of char beside her front steps.

Oliver suddenly realized he had never been to her place, and thus he had no idea what kind of plants she had been tending. This made him sad, which made him angry.

"My peas were just about ready to harvest!" she suddenly burst out and started to sob.

Oliver looked but nothing was left that he could see. He looked back at Diggle, but John just shrugged.

How do you comfort the loss of...peas?

He almost laughed--damn, his emotions, the lack of usual physical exertion, his city being hurt AGAIN--it was all starting to make him insane. 

Felicity was visibly trembling now.

He stepped closer and rested his hand on her shoulder as he had done countless times.

She turned and threw herself into his body. He took a stumbling step back before he realized it. She had her arms squeezing his torso so tightly all he could do was wrap his arms around her small body and hold her just as tight.

"Peas and lavender and my car. OH CRAP my car!" A new flood of warm tears spilled and soaked into Oliver's t-shirt. 

She hiccuped another sob. "I don't even know if massive civil unrest is covered by my insurance! Maybe if my car insurance won't cover it my renters insurance will but I'm not sure. I don't even know--"

Oliver tipped her head back. More tears were trapped behind her glasses. Her beautiful smile was now that horrible, despair filled tiny frown that he hated; because he had seen it too often in the couple years he had known her. 

He sighed and leaned until his forehead touched hers.

They both breathed in and out at the same time. Oliver watched her close her eyes and sniff. Then he watched her eyes fly open and she pushed out of his embrace.

"Oh jeeze, I got snot and tears all over you, Oliver!" She reached to wipe a particularly slimy mess off his chest but it just smeared it more. "Crap, sorry."

Diggle gave a soft laugh. "Come on, Felicity. Let's go inside, check the rest of your place."

She nodded and handed her keys to John and followed him up the steps.

"What else were you growing?" Oliver blurted out, not sure why it mattered now.

Felicity stood at her now open door. "Oh, well, some mint, basil, stuff like that." She shrugged.

"Fresh herbs are the best," he offered. She smiled sadly and nodded before following Diggle inside.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, apologies for editing goofs, I'm being real lazy with these emotional fics at the moment. I am planning on a couple more continuations, just don't know when yet (don't hate me, lol!).  
> Comments and requests are always loved!


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